Hugs-N-Hearts Early Learning Center

I cannot say enough good things about this school. 2 of my daughters are current students and the growth and confidence they’ve gained is amazing. The teachers are all so kind and SO good with the kids. They are willing to work with kids who may have extra needs. They are so worth the money. I absolutely love this place.

Hugs felt like family. We were so lucky to have wondering teachers who really treated the kids as of their own. They were not only caring, but also so creative. They created calm environments for the kids. There are a few classroom it was a pain to move away from. Many of the teachers remain friends even after we moved away. Many different activities and crafts. Only took out one star for the long screen time, wish there ware some other options.

Hugs is a really nice facility and we attended for about 2.5 years with a lot of happiness. Our kids were well prepared for kindergarten and there was some really wonderful staff there (miss mikayla, miss Ana, miss Jess to only name a few). Our biggest complaint though was the large amounts of screen time (movie watching specifically) which I know does not bring out the best in my kids. This was majority in the wrap around building and not preschool but it did begin in their second preschool class and through the summer program. Their repeated misbehaviors we got calls or messages for primarily happened at hugs and not at their public school, Sunday school, or home. It was quite clear to us that the movie watching often went hand in hand with other issues occurring only at hugs. Full movies were watched almost every day my kids were at hugs including PG movies my kids were scared of or disinterested in (parents were never informed what was going to be shown). There was not great alternatives for kids who didn’t want to watch. They were told they could nap (when younger) or sit outside the theater on a bench and play/read quietly. However, my kids often felt pressured to watch things they didn’t want because what 5 or 6 year old wants to leave all their friends and be alone or take a nap instead? They often felt as if they were being punished or the odd one out if they chose not to watch something. When we finally made a complaint about this it was met with blaming (caught me really off guard and made me feel really bad), defensiveness and no follow up to see how we felt. I acknowledged my part in miscommunication and apologized for any disrespect that may have been felt on their part but no apologies were given on their part. It was told to us at the start of K that movie watching in kindergarten would be on non curriculum days and special occasions. This ended up absolutely not the case. It was nowhere in their curriculum but the director informed us after our complaint that teachers are given 1 hour of screen time in afternoons to lesson plan (for the wrap around). I didn’t argue but my kids definitely watched full movies regularly, which lasted longer than 1 hour. Their curriculum at the start of the kindergarten year also only stated 1/2 hour of quiet time. We decided not to send our youngest there and that was a really sad and hard decision. There are many great things about hugs and it came highly recommended to us but unfortunately we left feeling hurt by their response to us and highly disrespected as paying customers. I found out we were definitely not the only ones who felt this way so I wish someone had let me know prior and that’s my reasoning for posting here. I think there is some definite room for improvement in this area but it felt like the administration didn’t want to address this was a problem. For many parents this may be a non issue for them but I felt it important to let parents know the real situation around screens there so they can make an informed decision especially if long movie times would be something negative for their children.

My children had the pleasure of walking in through the doors of Hugs and I am forever blessed they had Hugs from such an early age! They became family the moment they became part of the school. That in itself shows Hugs is a home away from home. That is what every Mom wants if they can’t be home with their child. Hugs is hands down the best around and the teachers they burn bad are all heart!

Hands down the best clove we have made with our children.